Nationals’ World Series journey sparks Mets’ hopes

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Mets’ Cinderella playoff run came down to three games. After a resilient second-half finish, just three games separated the Mets from sneaking into the postseason last year.

To make matters more cruel, the Mets were eliminated from playoff contention during the final outing of what would become Jacob deGrom’s second Cy Young season. The Mets offense, historically allergic to scoring runs for their ace, tallied double-digit runs that night against the Marlins. But there was little to celebrate after falling short of the postseason for the third straight year.

In another clubhouse in a different city, the Nationals soaked their surroundings in champagne and beer. They celebrated a wild card berth that didn’t seem possible in the earlier part of the year, and it was especially bitter for the team watching from Flushing.

The Mets went 12-7 against the Nationals and outscored them 109-96 last season. So when Washington celebrated on a parade float after beating the Astros for the championship, it stung the Mets to see the World Series unfurl in the Nationals’ favor from the comfort of their homes instead of the finish line.

Now, the Mets are motivated by the Nationals’ journey. If Washington — a team New York had no problem handling in 2019 — could go all the way, what’s stopping the Mets from accomplishing the same?

“They got hot and they played really well in the postseason, and they found a formula that worked, and I think we could have easily done the same thing,” Brandon Nimmo said Monday after the Mets beat the Nationals 2-1 in a spring training game. “So I think that’s the motivation for us. We were literally three games away last year from almost doing the exact same thing as them.”

Monday’s game was the Mets’ first Grapefruit League win of the year, behind a two-inning start from 24-year-old lefthander David Peterson. Wilson Ramos, after spending seven seasons behind the plate for the Nationals, hit a home run for the Mets.